Written Answers Wednesday 10 August 2005

Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many alcohol-related acute hospital discharges of people under 24 there have been in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board area.

Lewis Macdonald: Information on all alcohol-related discharges from general acute hospitals for people aged under 24 by NHS board area during 1999-2000 to 2004-05 is shown in the following table.

  Scottish General Acute Hospital 1,2 Discharge Records for Patients aged under 24 with an Explicit Diagnosis of an Alcohol Related Condition 3 ;1999-2000 to 2004-05

  

 Area of Residence
 Discharge Period
 
 
 
 
 


 
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05 p


 Total
 3,739
 3,538
 3,915
 3,880
 3,493
 3,269


 Scotland Residents
 3,651
 3,476
 3,828
 3,803
 3,423
 3,215


 Argyll and Clyde
 343
 337
 283
 294
 288
 293


 Ayrshire and Arran
 419
 339
 468
 503
 474
 418


 Borders
 76
 75
 80
 113
 85
 77


 Dumfries and Galloway
 118
 122
 96
 105
 92
 69


 Fife
 244
 208
 236
 239
 167
 198


 Forth Valley
 103
 116
 146
 152
 164
 105


 Grampian
 472
 358
 401
 389
 415
 385


 Greater Glasgow
 625
 599
 626
 587
 456
 580


 Highland
 193
 225
 268
 268
 269
 194


 Lanarkshire
 280
 286
 388
 321
 250
 238


 Lothian
 416
 430
 471
 454
 432
 397


 Tayside
 279
 300
 290
 282
 221
 167


 Western Isles
 31
 38
 37
 60
 69
 49


 Islands 4
 83
 81
 75
 96
 110
 94


 Other 5
 88
 62
 87
 77
 70
 54



  Source: SMR01 (valid records only).

  Date: 25 July 2005.

  Ref: 20052230.

  pprovisional.

  Notes:

  1. Includes acute hospitals (excludes maternity hospitals, mental illness hospitals and psychiatric units).

  2. Information on hospital discharges relates to episodes of inpatient or day case care rather than individual patients. The same patient may account for several hospital admissions during the course of a year (or across years) and will be counted each time in the table. Transfer cases have been included.

  3. Diagnostic information is defined by using the World Health Organisation’s International Classification of Diseases 10th revision (ICD10). Alcohol related conditions: F10, R780, Y90, Y91, Z637, Z811, Z864, Z714, Z502, T506, Y573, T510, T519, X45, X65, Y15, O354, Q860, P043, Z721, Z133, G621, G721, K860, I426, K70, K292, G312, E52.

  4. Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles.

  5. Patients resident outwith Scotland and patients where the area of residence is not known.

Alcohol Misuse

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many discharges with alcohol-related liver disease there have been in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board area.

Lewis Macdonald: Information on all alcohol-related liver disease discharges from general acute hospitals during 1999-2000 to 2004-05 is shown in the following table.

  Scottish General Acute Hospital 1,2 Discharge Records with an Explicit Diagnosis of Alcoholic Liver Disease 3 ;1999-2000 to 2004-05

  

 Area of Residence
 Discharge Period
 
 
 
 
 


 
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05 p


 Total
 5,576
 6,217
 7,109
 7,430
 8,302
 8,522


 Scotland Residents
 5,554
 6,166
 7,057
 7,375
 8,272
 8,472


 Argyll and Clyde
 503
 536
 628
 692
 662
 668


 Ayrshire and Arran
 285
 332
 428
 466
 582
 622


 Borders
 87
 88
 100
 77
 52
 73


 Dumfries and Galloway
 118
 123
 165
 176
 178
 153


 Fife
 390
 427
 465
 413
 440
 552


 Forth Valley
 217
 257
 325
 303
 301
 328


 Grampian
 372
 404
 433
 409
 518
 540


 Greater Glasgow
 1468
 1719
 1787
 1926
 2267
 2154


 Highland
 185
 133
 211
 281
 349
 382


 Lanarkshire
 594
 614
 761
 965
 1089
 1215


 Lothian
 969
 1151
 1333
 1202
 1250
 1260


 Tayside
 330
 318
 366
 411
 521
 433


 Islands 4
 36
 64
 55
 54
 63
 92


 Other 5
 22
 51
 52
 55
 30
 50



  Source: SMR01 (valid records only).

  Date: 25 July 2005.

  Ref: 20052231.

  Notes:

  Pprovisional

  1. Includes acute hospitals (excludes maternity hospitals, mental illness hospitals and psychiatric units).

  2. Information on hospital discharges relates to episodes of inpatient or day case care rather than individual patients. The same patient may account for several hospital admissions during the course of a year (or across years) and will be counted each time in the attached table. Transfer cases have been included.

  3. Diagnostic information is defined by using the World Health Organisation’s International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD10). Alcoholic Liver Disease: K70.

  4. Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles.

  5. Patients resident outwith Scotland and patients where the area of residence is not known.

Alcohol Misuse

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many admissions to hospital of people under 24 with acute intoxication there have been in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board area.

Lewis Macdonald: Information on all acute intoxication discharges from general acute hospitals for people aged under 24 during 1999-2000 to 2004-05 is shown in the following table.

  Scottish General Acute Hospital 1,2 Discharge Records for Patients for Patients aged under 24 with an Explicit Diagnosis of Acute Intoxication 3 ; 1999-2000 to 2004-05

  

 Area of Residence
 Discharge Period
 
 
 
 
 


 
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05 p


 Total
 2,314
 2,023
 2,182
 2,047
 1,757
 1,553


 Scotland Residents
 2,259
 1,988
 2,127
 2,003
 1,716
 1,531


 Argyll and Clyde
 213
 192
 171
 173
 190
 173


 Ayrshire and Arran
 309
 256
 322
 395
 344
 301


 Borders
 55
 53
 60
 83
 66
 53


 Dumfries and Galloway
 50
 36
 26
 29
 23
 21


 Fife
 122
 106
 94
 106
 69
 63


 Forth Valley
 53
 69
 97
 61
 74
 45


 Grampian
 355
 237
 283
 240
 183
 146


 Greater Glasgow
 332
 282
 277
 212
 143
 182


 Highland
 149
 162
 194
 185
 158
 113


 Lanarkshire
 157
 150
 201
 164
 102
 138


 Lothian
 208
 193
 163
 121
 135
 133


 Tayside
 203
 201
 180
 162
 142
 101


 Islands 4
 53
 51
 59
 72
 87
 62


 Other 5
 55
 35
 55
 44
 41
 22



  Source: SMR01 (valid records only).

  Date: 25 July 2005.

  Ref: 20052232.

  Notes:

  pprovisional.

  1. Includes acute hospitals (excludes maternity hospitals, mental illness hospitals and psychiatric units).

  2. Information on hospital discharges relates to episodes of inpatient or day case care rather than individual patients. The same patient may account for several hospital admissions during the course of a year (or across years) and will be counted each time in the attached table. Transfer cases have been included.

  3. Diagnostic information is defined by using the World Health Organisation’s International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD10). Acute Intoxication: F100

  4. Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles

  5. Patients resident outwith Scotland and patients where the area of residence is not known.

Alcohol Misuse

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many referrals to the Reporter to the Children’s Panel regarding children with personal alcohol problems there have been in each year since 1999.

Robert Brown: The Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration collates data in line with the grounds for referral set out in section 52(2) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. Section 52(2)(j) sets out the ground for referral where a child has misused alcohol or any drug. The data collected by the Administration does not differentiate between the two areas of concern. In that light the number of referrals under Section 52(2)(j) since 1999 is set out in the following table :

  

 Year
 Number of Referrals to the Children’s Reporter under s52(2)(j)


 1999-2000
 1,260


 2000-01
 1,272


 2001-02
 1,697


 2002-03
 1,854


 2003-04
 1,969

Business Rates

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many businesses (a) are eligible for and (b) apply for the higher level of relief through the small business rate relief scheme.

Tom McCabe: This information is not held centrally.

Caledonian MacBrayne

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has invited Caledonian MacBrayne to bring forward off-shore employment contracts for its employees.

Tavish Scott: We advised Caledonian MacBrayne in April that we would be content were the company to decide to introduce offshore crewing on the basis that this is normal practice within the UK shipping industry. It is for the company to decide whether to proceed on this basis.

Cities

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-11869 by Ms Patricia Ferguson on 12 November 2004, what progress has been made in relation to a possible contribution from the UK Delegation to UNESCO of up to £50,000 to UNESCO’s new Creative Cities Fund.

Patricia Ferguson: The UK Delegation to UNESCO contributed £50,000 to the UNESCO Fund of the Global Alliance to assist with the development of the Creative Cities network in December 2004.

Community Care

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are currently on waiting lists for aids and adaptations, broken down by local authority area.

Lewis Macdonald: The information requested is not currently held centrally.

Education

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Merchant Navy Training Board, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and other interested parties about the provision of courses in nautical studies in Scotland.

Allan Wilson: Given that the Scottish Executive has no direct role in determining the courses which are offered by individual institutions, there have consequently been no discussions between the Executive and the organisations referred to about the provision of courses in nautical studies.

  Courses with a nautical or maritime dimension are available at a wide range of institutions in Scotland. The availability of any course is entirely a matter for the governing body of the institution concerned, taking account of issues such as student demand and the needs of employers. In determining their course provision, institutions engage closely with employer organisations and sector skills bodies.

Emergency Services

Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all air ambulance missions carried out between Kirkwall Airport and airports on the Scottish mainland since February 2005, giving the route taken with the patient, the aircraft type used, the time between the Scottish Ambulance Service air desk being contacted and the aircraft arriving at the airstrip to collect the patient, the time on the ground at that airstrip, the duration of the flight with the patient on board and, where the aircraft used was not the Super King Air B200, the reason the Super King Air B200 was not used.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is detailed in the table: Information requested for question S2W-17874, a copy of which has been placed in the Scottish parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 37197).

Emergency Services

Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all air ambulance missions carried out between Orkney airstrips, excluding Kirkwall Airport, and airports on the Scottish mainland since February 2005, giving the route taken with the patient, the aircraft type used, the time between the Scottish Ambulance Service air desk being contacted and the aircraft arriving at the airstrip to collect the patient, the time on the ground at that airstrip, the duration of the flight with the patient on board and, where the aircraft used was not the EC 135 helicopter, the reason the EC 135 helicopter was not used.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is detailed in the table: Information requested for question S2W-17875 , a copy of which has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 37198).

Emergency Services

Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all air ambulance missions carried out within Orkney since February 2005, giving the route taken with the patient, the aircraft type used, the time between the Scottish Ambulance Service air desk being contacted and the aircraft arriving at the airstrip to collect the patient, the time on the ground at that airstrip, the duration of the flight with the patient on board and, where the aircraft used was not the EC 135 helicopter, the reason the EC 135 helicopter was not used.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is detailed in the table: Information requested for question S2W-17876, a copy of which has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 37199).

Employment

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish its employability framework.

Allan Wilson: We propose to publish the framework later this year.

EventScotland

David McLetchie (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money it has allocated directly to Event Scotland this year and each of the next three years.

Patricia Ferguson: Resources totalling £5 million have been available to EventScotland in 2005-06, and in each of the following years, 2006-07 and 2007-08. Funding in the years beyond the current Spending Review period has yet to be agreed.

Ferry Services

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the full minutes of the meetings held between the Minister for Transport and the European Commission with regard to the tendering for the Western Isles ferry services.

Tavish Scott: Discussions between member states and the Commission are private and inform internal discussion and advice. The minutes of such meetings are not normally made public and are exempt from disclosure under section 32(1)(a)(ii) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Ferry Services

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the legal advice it has received with regard to the tendering for the Western Isles ferry services.

Tavish Scott: The Executive does not normally disclose legal advice which it receives.

Ferry Services

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures will be put in place in the new contract between it and the future provider of lifeline ferry services to Orkney and Shetland from April 2006 in order to avoid any increase in the agreed subsidy, as was the case with the NorthLink Ferries contract.

Tavish Scott: The new Northern Isles Ferry Services contract will include a grant agreement between the Executive and the next operator. The draft grant agreement provides that adjustments to the grant may be made where this is justified on the basis of the costs of running the service.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it understands the European Commission to be considering to help the EU fishing industry cope with rising fuel costs and how it intends to respond to any proposals for such measures.

Ross Finnie: At a meeting between the industry and the Commission on 29 July 2005, Commissioner Borg outlined five potential fuel support measures, as follows:

  Payments under FIFG for the temporary cessation of fishing on the grounds of adverse impacts of viability due to high fuel costs. Such payments would need to come from existing FIFG budgets and could be given for three month periods, with a maximum of six months funding between now and the end of 2006.

  Payments under FIFG for re-gearing activity which leads to the introduction of more fuel efficient fishing gear. This did not extend to re-engining.

  Commission review of the de minimis level of state aid which is exempt from the ban on fisheries operational subsidies. At present 3,000 Euros per boat over a three year period can be paid.

  A Commission review of adjustments to the European Fisheries Fund to cover longer term fuel related restructuring activities.

  A Commission review of the possible creation of a guarantee fund for fuel.

  The Scottish Executive remains in close dialogue with the industry, the UK government and the EU Commission regarding the effects of high fuel costs and will continue to explore what options might be available.

Further and Higher Education

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how the remoteness of colleges will be taken into account by the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council in the awarding of funds to colleges.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council will continue to fund colleges and institutions using the same funding allocation methodologies as SFEFC and SHEFC currently use.

  As part of SFEFC formula funding, an additional element is awarded to those colleges which are classified as "remote". This remoteness funding recognises the additional costs associated with operating in remote and sparsely populated areas of Scotland and aims to reflect the additional costs that remote colleges necessarily bear.

General Practitioners

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact of 48-hour access targets for general practitioners on availability of pre-booked routine appointments and how many patients it estimates do not have the opportunity to book advance appointments within 48 hours.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is not available centrally.

  The Scottish Executive published a commitment in the Partnership Agreement that from April 2004 anyone contacting their GP practice would have guaranteed access to a GP, nurse or other healthcare professional within 48 hours.

  Access is defined as including appointments, but also includes other arrangements which are appropriate to the patient’s circumstances and clinical need. The target focuses on access rather than GP appointments and a range of healthcare professionals, not just GPs.

  The 48 hour access target is not intended to preclude the ability of patients and practitioners to pre-book routine appointments. We expect each primary medical services practice to establish appropriate access arrangements in accordance with local circumstances and to meet the requirement of the target. Access to primary medical services is determined by a number of factors including clinical need.

  Information on the target and the guidance issued to NHS boards is available publicly from the 48 Hour Access website: http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/sehd/48houraccess.

General Practitioners

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people (a) requested and (b) received an appointment to see a GP within 48 hours in the last period for which figures are available.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is not available centrally.

  The Scottish Executive published a commitment in the Partnership Agreement that from April 2004 anyone contacting their GP practice would have guaranteed access to a GP, nurse or other healthcare professional within 48 hours.

  Access is defined as including appointments, but also includes other arrangements which are appropriate to the patient’s circumstances and clinical need. The target focuses on access rather than GP appointments and a range of healthcare professionals, not just GPs.

  The 48 hour access target is included in the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) under the new GP contract arrangements. In 2004-05, 97% of Scottish practices qualified for and received the ‘access bonus’ through the QOF. Similarly high levels of compliance have been reported by NHS boards through the 2004-05 Performance Assessment Framework.

  Information on the target and the guidance issued to NHS boards is available publicly from the 48 Hour Access website: http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/sehd/48houraccess.

Graduates

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many graduates gained a degree in (a) finance, (b) accountancy and (c) banking in each year since 1997, expressed also as a percentage of the total number of graduates.

Allan Wilson: The following tables give the numbers of higher education graduates from Scottish higher education institutions and further education colleges in the academic years 1996-97 to 2002-03 (the most recent year for which complete graduate data are available).

  (a) Finance (including banking)

  Numbers of HE graduates with Finance a Main Subject of Study

  

 
 Level of Study


 Year
 Postgraduate
 First Degree
 Sub-Degree


 1996-97
 190
 195
 200


 1997-98
 200
 230
 75


 1998-99
 155
 210
 100


 1999-2000
 180
 155
 90


 2000-01
 160
 195
 60


 2001-02
 165
 235
 105


 2002-031
 355
 315
 95



  Sources: Higher Education Statistics Agency and Scottish Further Education Funding Council.

  Note: All numbers are rounded up or down to the nearest 5. Numbers may not sum to totals exactly due to rounding.

  1. The method used for identifying subject of study changed in 2002-03 from that used in previous years.

  HE graduates with Finance a Main Subject of Study as a Percentage of all Graduates at that Level

  

 
 Level of Study


 Year
 Postgraduate
 First Degree
 Sub-Degree


 1996-97
 1.83%
 0.81%
 0.78%


 1997-98
 1.67%
 0.89%
 0.29%


 1998-99
 1.43%
 0.84%
 0.41%


 1999-2000
 1.36%
 0.60%
 0.31%


 2000-01
 1.30%
 0.73%
 0.23%


 2001-02
 1.30%
 0.88%
 0.44%


 2002-031
 2.61%
 1.22%
 0.41%



  Sources: Higher Education Statistics Agency and Scottish Further Education Funding Council.

  Note: All numbers are rounded up or down to the nearest 5. Numbers may not sum to totals exactly due to rounding.

  1. The method used for identifying subject of study changed in 2002-03 from that used in previous years.

  (b) Accountancy

  Numbers of HE Graduates with Accountancy/Accounting a Main Subject of Study

  

 
 Level of study


 Year
 Postgraduate
 First degree
 Sub-degree


 1996-97
 60
 580
 1,405


 1997-98
 50
 590
 1,075


 1998-99
 35
 705
 1,290


 1999-00
 20
 565
 1,160


 2000-01
 35
 550
 890


 2001-02
 25
 485
 855


 2002-031
 20
 540
 840



  Sources: Higher Education Statistics Agency and Scottish Further Education Funding Council.

  Note: All numbers are rounded up or down to the nearest 5. Numbers may not sum to totals exactly due to rounding.

  1. The method used for identifying subject of study changed in 2002-03 from that used in previous years.

  HE Graduates with Accountancy/Accounting a Main Subject of Study as a Percentage of all Graduates at that Level

  

 
 Level of study


 Year
 Postgraduate
 First degree
 Sub-degree


 1996-97
 0.57%
 2.42%
 5.45%


 1997-98
 0.41%
 2.31%
 4.24%


 1998-99
 0.34%
 2.79%
 5.14%


 1999-00
 0.14%
 2.18%
 3.96%


 2000-01
 0.27%
 2.10%
 3.36%


 2001-02
 0.20%
 1.85%
 3.52%


 2002-031
 0.13%
 2.07%
 3.71%



  Sources: Higher Education Statistics Agency and Scottish Further Education Funding Council.

  Note: All numbers are rounded up or down to the nearest 5. Numbers may not sum to totals exactly due to rounding.

  1. The method used for identifying subject of study changed in 2002-03 from that used in previous years.

  (c) Banking

  It has not been possible to separate banking from other finance subjects and graduates in banking are included in the tables given in (a).

Health

Michael McMahon (Hamilton North and Bellshill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding palliative care has received in each NHS board area in each year since 1995.

Mr Andy Kerr: This is a matter for NHS boards. The information requested is not held centrally.

Health

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated for (a) palliative care, (b) hospices and (c) pain relief training by each NHS board in the last year.

Mr Andy Kerr: Of the £25 million additional Cancer in Scotland  investment, more than £2.3m is available on a recurring basis for palliative care. This investment has been used for staffing, training and equipment to support improvements in patient care in the community.

  Apart from this, funding for palliative care, hospices and pain relief training is a matter for NHS boards. The information is not held centrally.

Higher and Further Education

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the overall efficiency of colleges will be taken into account by the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council in awarding funds and if so, how.

Allan Wilson: This is an operational matter for the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council, however I understand that funding allocations will continue to be allocated to colleges and higher education institutions using the same funding allocation methodologies as those currently used by SFEFC and SHEFC. Funding allocations are based on units of resource applied to a fixed level of activity which provides a strong incentive for institutions to be efficient. If costs are too high then management must produce efficiencies since the Council will not condone poor quality or volume below target.

Higher and Further Education

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether past efficiency of management and budget will be taken into account by the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council in awarding funds to colleges.

Allan Wilson: This is an operational matter for the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council, however I understand that colleges may only apply their SFEFC funding for the purposes intended and must ensure sound financial management arrangements are in place for the effective stewardship of this money. Misuse of funds by colleges can result in money being clawed back from colleges by SFEFC.

  Colleges’ external auditors verify that all SFEFC funding has been properly applied. Confirmation that all external auditors have been able to give that assurance is set out in SFEFC’s annual report and accounts.

  In addition, colleges also have in place internal audit services and arrangements to secure the economic, efficient and effective management of resources. Through internal auditors’ annual reports, colleges confirm to SFEFC that these arrangements are in place.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why procedures for identifying and managing patients at risk of being infected with MRSA at admission vary between hospitals in Scotland and whether there are any plans to standardise practice.

Mr Andy Kerr: All hospitals should adhere to the national guidance contained in the Code of Practice for the Local Management of Hygiene and Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) . Various other strands of work are underway to address this issue:

  Health Protection Scotland will complete work on model policies and procedures for the prevention and control of infection later this year.

  A working group of the HAI Task Force has developed a risk management methodology for HAI, which has been consulted on and piloted, and will be published later this year.

  NHS Quality Improvement Scotland is currently carrying out a Health Technology Assessment on the effectiveness of screening for MRSA, which will report next year. Its recommendations will be included in the HAI Task Force’s national MRSA Control Strategy.

  It is important that national policies and procedures are not overly prescriptive and are flexible enough to enable hospitals to take into account local circumstances and the needs of individual patients.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there will be any further Scottish research into the use of Marmoleum® in hospitals and public spaces and whether Marmoleum® will be installed in every hospital in Scotland as a preventative method for curtailing the spread of MRSA.

Mr Andy Kerr: It is for manufacturers to carry out testing on their products to gauge their suitability for use in their target market environment. However, I have passed details of the Health Protection Agency’s Rapid Review Panel (RRP) to the manufacturers of Marmoleum®, Forbo-Nairn. The panel was established to review research and testing on products designed to aid hospital infection control.

  We do not intend to install Marmoleum® in every hospital in Scotland. There is no existing evidence that providing Marmoleum® flooring is more effective than other measures (e.g. promoting good hygiene practice or providing HAI education and training for staff) in preventing the spread of HAIs. It would, therefore, be inappropriate to dictate spending priorities to NHS boards in such a way.

International Organisations

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the purpose was of any meetings its officials have had with the Inter-American Development Bank.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive met with representatives of the Inter American Bank to discuss International Development policy, official representation in Washington DC and SME Business Growth and Innovation Policy. The IADB officials also met with representatives from Scottish Development International and Scottish Enterprise.

NHS Staff

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) headcount and (b) whole-time equivalent NHS vacancies there were for (i) diagnostic and (ii) therapeutic radiographers in each year since 1997 in total and broken down into positions vacant for (1) less than three, (2) three to six, (3) six to nine, (4) nine to 12, (5) 12 to 15, (6) 15 to 18 and (7) over 18 months.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on vacant posts in NHS Scotland is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce . Section F gives details of allied health professionals vacancies in NHS Scotland. In particular, table F7 shows the whole time equivalent (WTE) number of radiographer vacancies from 31 March 2001 to 31 March 2005, broken down by those posts vacant more or less than three months.

  The radiography vacancy rate decreased by 2.2% to 5.3% in the year to March 2005. The radiography vacancy rate for vacancies over three months is 3.5%.

  Information for diagnostic and therapeutic radiographer vacancies is available from 2005, as this level of detail was not collected prior to this date. Further breakdown on the length of vacancies and the headcount number is not available.

NHS Staff

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS training places for (a) diagnostic and (b) therapeutic radiographers there were in each year since 1997.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on the number of diagnostic and therapeutic training places is available for years 2001 to 2004. This information was not collected by all universities for years 1997 to 2000 and information for 2005 is not yet available as the intake has not been finalised.

NHS Staff

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many imaging and radiodiagnostics examinations and tests were carried out in the NHS (a) in total, (b) in imaging departments and (c) in other departments in each year since 1997, broken down into (i) CT, (ii) MRI, (iii) obstetric ultrasound, (iv) non-obstetric ultrasound, (v) radioisotopes, (vi) radiographs with no fluoroscopy and (vii) fluoroscopy.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is not available centrally.

  Work is currently underway to improve the information collected about radiology services. A radiology information development group has been established and will be involved in project managing the introduction of methods to collect the type of information requested.

  This information will underpin the monitoring and delivery of the recently announced diagnostic waiting time standard of a maximum nine week wait by the end of 2007.

National Health Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average bed occupancy rate was of each acute hospital in each of the last five years.

Mr Andy Kerr: The following table details percentage bed occupancy for acute specialties in Scottish hospitals. Hospitals with 25 or more average available staffed beds in acute specialties have been included in the table. While the occupancy of the large hospitals providing most of the acute care remains reasonably stable across the 5 years, some small, generally rural hospitals show changing occupancy figures as the provision of service changes due to service redesign. For example, Stracathro Hospital is being redeveloped as Scotland’s first Ambulatory Diagnostic and Treatment Centre and any spare inpatient capacity is to be used in partnership with the independent sector to help reduce waiting times in Tayside, Grampian and Fife.

  NHSScotland - Percentage Acute1 Bed Occupancy2 by Hospital3; Years Ending 31 March 2001 - 20052

  

 
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005p


 Scotland - All Acute Specialties
 81.1
 81.3
 81.8
 81.7
 81.7


 Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
 80.5
 83.5
 84.7
 83.5
 82.1


 Ashludie Hospital
 89.9
 90.6
 91.9
 90.8
 76.2


 Astley Ainslie Hospital
 80.9
 82.2
 82.1
 84.7
 86.1


 Ayrshire Central Hospital
 78.0
 73.2
 69.8
 66.0
 62.7


 Balfour Hospital
 59.4
 65.2
 70.7
 62.4
 58.2


 Belford Hospital
 75.8
 76.5
 73.3
 73.7
 66.8


 Biggart Hospital
 96.0
 91.8
 89.4
 91.0
 88.2


 Blairgowrie Community Hospital
 88.0
 78.0
 83.0
 82.1
 85.3


 Borders General Hospital
 78.6
 78.8
 80.4
 82.5
 81.3


 Caithness General Hospital
 71.9
 74.4
 78.7
 78.0
 75.9


 Campbeltown Hospital
 78.9
 81.1
 75.8
 78.0
 73.7


 Canniesburn Hospital
 70.3
 68.1
 55.7
 60.9
 63.6


 Chalmers Hospital
 58.2
 64.5
 58.8
 59.3
 59.5


 City Hospital, Edinburgh
 61.1
 54.1
 -
 -
 -


 Coathill Hospital
 83.9
 93.5
 81.8
 84.0
 79.5


 Cowglen Hospital
 80.5
 26.0
 -
 -
 -


 Crieff Community Hospital
 67.7
 74.1
 74.0
 75.8
 71.1


 Crosshouse Hospital
 82.8
 81.9
 82.1
 81.1
 81.8


 Davidson Cottage Hospital
 70.2
 71.1
 72.8
 70.6
 63.5


 Dr Gray's Hospital
 81.2
 78.3
 79.5
 73.9
 74.4


 Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary
 77.7
 78.3
 80.5
 81.2
 83.9


 Dunoon and District General Hospital
 88.3
 82.8
 80.4
 76.5
 82.9


 Falkirk and District Royal Infirmary
 89.2
 87.5
 90.0
 91.6
 91.7



  NHSScotland - Percentage Acute1 Bed Occupancy2 by Hospital3; Years Ending 31 March 2001 - 20052

  

 
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005p


 Forth Park Hospital
 59.7
 48.1
 48.3
 52.1
 46.3


 Fraserburgh Hospital
 67.6
 67.5
 65.6
 75.9
 63.1


 Garrick Hospital
 51.2
 53.7
 55.4
 46.8
 35.7


 Gilbert Bain Hospital
 66.3
 70.6
 64.6
 59.4
 53.9


 Glasgow Royal Infirmary
 86.6
 86.8
 87.0
 84.6
 85.1


 Golden Jubilee National Hospital
 -
 -
 -
 -
 100.0


 Hairmyres Hospital
 81.9
 84.1
 89.3
 90.6
 91.7


 Hawick Cottage Hospital
 68.5
 73.3
 73.6
 78.4
 63.5


 Hay Lodge Hospital
 99.8
 100.0
 100.0
 97.2
 93.0


 Inverclyde Royal Hospital
 79.5
 80.6
 79.2
 78.4
 82.7


 Jubilee Hospital
 67.8
 64.8
 60.2
 61.9
 60.5


 Kings Cross Hospital
 85.6
 79.1
 -
 -
 -


 Law Hospital
 70.7
 72.1
 -
 -
 -


 Lawson Memorial Hospital
 68.4
 61.6
 55.5
 59.6
 53.3


 Leanchoil Hospital
 94.7
 98.9
 97.1
 91.0
 92.6


 Liberton Hospital
 94.2
 93.0
 91.7
 90.6
 90.1


 Lightburn Hospital
 88.6
 90.8
 87.7
 85.8
 84.7


 Lockhart Hospital
 73.8
 74.1
 73.2
 73.0
 66.1


 Lorn & Islands District Gen Hospital
 77.5
 73.3
 65.4
 66.6
 69.2


 Monklands Hospital
 81.0
 84.2
 85.5
 85.9
 86.4


 New Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
 -
 60.8
 71.4
 85.2
 88.9


 Ninewells Hospital
 80.6
 83.6
 83.0
 81.8
 83.6


 Perth Royal Infirmary
 83.6
 84.8
 88.4
 86.0
 87.0


 Peterhead Community Hospital
 76.0
 75.4
 80.4
 78.0
 76.8


 Princess Margaret Rose Hospital
 76.3
 64.0
 -
 -
 -


 Queen Margaret Hospital
 90.0
 87.6
 88.5
 90.7
 92.2


 Raigmore Hospital
 80.9
 81.7
 79.6
 79.9
 79.4


 Ravenscraig Hospital
 81.8
 37.9
 51.8
 88.4
 87.2


 Roodlands General Hospital
 89.2
 90.2
 87.9
 89.3
 89.0


 Ross Memorial Hospital
 76.4
 77.0
 74.8
 76.1
 75.8


 Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital
 54.5
 55.0
 55.0
 51.5
 55.4


 Royal Alexandra Hospital
 85.8
 85.6
 85.3
 84.3
 84.1


 Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh
 64.2
 66.4
 64.8
 64.3
 65.7


 Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow
 63.7
 63.8
 70.5
 66.8
 68.0


 Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
 88.4
 86.8
 85.4
 81.5
 -


 Royal Northern Infirmary
 83.2
 86.1
 72.0
 77.5
 84.7


 Royal Victoria Hospital, Edinburgh
 96.5
 96.9
 96.8
 95.5
 97.4


 Royal Victoria Hospital, Dundee
 88.0
 86.2
 77.6
 84.9
 83.1


 Seafield Hospital
 88.8
 93.9
 100.0
 100.0
 100.0


 Southern General Hospital
 80.1
 82.2
 81.5
 80.1
 76.6



  NHSScotland - Percentage Acute1 Bed Occupancy2 by Hospital3; Years Ending 31 March 2001 - 20052

  

 
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005p


 Spynie Hospital
 85.3
 85.4
 86.0
 82.3
 42.0


 St Columba's Hospice
 80.4
 88.1
 84.0
 87.0
 74.9


 St John's Hospital At Howden
 83.2
 81.6
 81.9
 82.7
 81.8


 Stirling Royal Infirmary
 75.0
 74.0
 74.1
 74.5
 76.8


 Stobhill Hospital
 77.5
 80.1
 82.2
 83.4
 81.1


 Stonehouse Hospital
 58.8
 100.0
 -
 -
 -


 Stracathro Hospital
 79.5
 74.1
 68.7
 65.6
 61.7


 Strathclyde Hospital
 -
 75.0
 72.1
 81.5
 77.6


 The Ayr Hospital
 82.5
 82.9
 81.1
 83.4
 83.1


 Tor-Na-Dee Hospital
 70.6
 62.9
 77.2
 -
 -


 Udston Hospital
 90.0
 90.3
 94.6
 87.3
 88.9


 Vale of Leven District General Hospital
 88.3
 88.5
 82.9
 81.4
 80.4


 Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy
 81.4
 79.5
 79.2
 81.8
 82.5


 Victoria Infirmary
 87.2
 85.7
 88.6
 88.4
 88.7


 Victoria Infirmary Geriatric Unit
 94.5
 92.1
 91.0
 90.3
 91.3


 Wester Moffat Hospital
 -
 86.3
 86.3
 74.8
 75.0


 Western General Hospital
 85.3
 77.9
 84.6
 87.1
 88.4


 Western Infirmary/Gartnavel General
 77.2
 77.5
 78.8
 78.8
 80.8


 Western Isles Hospital
 77.1
 77.4
 71.1
 68.0
 62.8


 Wishaw General Hospital
 -
 78.1
 81.0
 85.8
 86.7


 Woodend General Hospital
 88.3
 91.0
 91.5
 90.6
 90.1



  Note: pProvisional.

National Health Service

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive how many cleanliness champions have been appointed in each year since 2002, also broken down by NHS board, and what wards or clinical units are still awaiting a cleanliness champion.

Mr Andy Kerr: Cleanliness champions are not appointed, but are existing NHSScotland staff who undergo the cleanliness champions training programme. The aim of the programme is to train staff to champion the prevention and control of Healthcare Associated Infections within their clinical area. To date, 474 persons have completed the training programme. A further 2,771 have registered and are currently undergoing training.

  The table provides a breakdown, by NHS Board, of registrations and completions for the programme since it began in September 2003. Information about wards or clinical units that do not have a cleanliness champion is not held centrally.

  

 Organisation
 Registrations to July 2005
 Completions to July 2005


 NHS Argyll and Clyde
 102
 10


 NHS Ayrshire and Arran
 201
 30


 NHS Borders
 84
 17


 NHS Dumfries and Galloway
 191
 77


 NHS Fife
 160
 29


 NHS Forth Valley
 111
 4


 NHS Grampian
 79
 18


 NHS Greater Glasgow
 567
 84


 NHS Highland
 129
 18


 NHS Lanarkshire
 316
 41


 NHS Lothian
 312
 70


 NHS Orkney
 24
 0


 NHS Shetland
 23
 11


 NHS Tayside
 271
 42


 NHS Western Isles
 31
 6


 Golden Jubilee National Hospital
 51
 6


 The State Hospital
 49
 11


 Scottish Ambulance Service
 64
 0


 Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service
 6
 0


 Total
 2771
 474

National Health Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many, and what percentage of, people (a) admitted to and (b) discharged from hospital were malnourished in each of the last five years for which figures are available, broken down by age.

Mr Andy Kerr: Centrally held information can provide details for those patients where malnourishment is explicitly identified on their hospital records. These figures may represent an undercount of the true number of cases because even though a patient may be malnourished on admission to hospital, another condition may be the primary cause of the hospital admission and in such cases the malnourishment may not be recorded.

  Figures presented in Table 1 are based on non-obstetric and non-psychiatric discharges from hospital with a diagnosis of malnourishment. Patients with more than one admission in a year are only counted once. It is not possible to identify whether a diagnosis of malnourishment was made before admission or during a stay in hospital.

  Table 1 - Number of Patients Discharged with Diagnosis of Malnourishment in NHSScotland, 2000-2004p

  

 
 Year ending 31 December


 Age group (years)
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004p


 0-24 
 101
 69
 83
 100
 93


 25-34 
 115
 72
 104
 89
 80


 35-44
 167
 140
 153
 153
 131


 45-54
 199
 171
 176
 201
 160


 55-64
 199
 207
 223
 208
 224


 65-74
 307
 275
 281
 326
 298


 75-84
 399
 354
 388
 437
 412


 85 & over
 262
 283
 270
 329
 293


 Total
 1,749
 1,571
 1,678
 1,843
 1,691



  Notes:

  1. These statistics are derived from the linked database containing linked discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric hospitals (SMR01) records in Scotland.

  2. Up to 6 diagnoses (1 principal, 5 secondary) are recorded on the SMR01 return. All diagnostic positions have been used to identify patients.

  3. There is not one single, specific International Classification of Disease (ICD), tenth revision, code for malnourishment and this analysis is based on the following ICD10 codes: E40-E46, E50-E64, E12, O25, D51.3, D52.0, D53.2, D53.8, D53.9, M83.3, O24.2, F50.0, F50.1 & T73.0.

  4. Age group is assigned on the first discharge for each patient.

  PProvisional.

  Table 2 presents the patients in Table 1 as a percentage of all non-obstetric and non-psychiatric patients.

  Table 2 - Percentage of Patients Discharged with Diagnosis of Malnourishment in NHSScotland, 2000-2004p

  

 
 Year ending 31 December


 Age group (years)
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004p


 0-24 
 0.08
 0.05
 0.07
 0.08
 0.08


 25-34 
 0.15
 0.10
 0.16
 0.15
 0.14


 35-44
 0.20
 0.17
 0.19
 0.20
 0.17


 45-54
 0.23
 0.20
 0.22
 0.26
 0.21


 55-64
 0.22
 0.23
 0.25
 0.23
 0.25


 65-74
 0.30
 0.27
 0.29
 0.33
 0.31


 75-84
 0.48
 0.42
 0.47
 0.51
 0.48


 85 & over
 0.76
 0.81
 0.78
 0.97
 0.89


 Total
 0.25
 0.23
 0.26
 0.29
 0.27



  Notes:

  1. These statistics are derived from the linked database containing linked discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric hospitals (SMR01) records in Scotland.

  2. Up to 6 diagnoses (1 principal, 5 secondary) are recorded on the SMR01 return.

  3. There is not one single, specific International Classification of Disease (ICD), tenth revision, code for malnourishment and this analysis is based on the following ICD10 codes: E40-E46, E50-E64, E12, O25, D51.3, D52.0, D53.2, D53.8, D53.9, M83.3, O24.2, F50.0, F50.1 & T73.0.

  4. Age group is assigned on the first discharge for each patient.

  5. Percentage is calculated by dividing the number of patients discharged with a diagnosis of malnourishment by the total number of patients discharged.

  PProvisional.

National Health Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) Scottish residents were referred for treatment in English hospitals and (b) English residents were referred for treatment in Scottish hospitals in each year since 1999.

Mr Andy Kerr: Comparable data for referrals for treatment in each direction is not held centrally.

National Health Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many elective admissions there were for (a) MRI scans and (b) CT scans in each year since 1997.

Mr Andy Kerr: Patients are not normally admitted to hospital for MRI or CT scans. As the procedures only take a short period of time and are non-invasive, they are usually undertaken at outpatient clinics.

  Patients who have been admitted to hospital for surgical or medical reasons may receive an MRI or CT scan during their hospital stay. However, the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys Classification of Surgical Operations and Procedures (Fourth Revision) used on central returns, does not explicitly identify MRI or CT scans.

Nurses

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the drop-out rate was for student nurses in year one in (a) 2000, (b) 2001, (c) 2002, (d) 2003 and (e) 2004.

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the drop-out rate was for student nurses in year two in (a) 2000, (b) 2001, (c) 2002, (d) 2003 and (e) 2004.

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the drop-out rate was for student nurses in year three in (a) 2000, (b) 2001, (c) 2002, (d) 2003 and (e) 2004.

Mr Andy Kerr: This information is not held centrally.

  NHS Education for Scotland (NES) collects information about pre-registration nursing and midwifery students, on an annual basis, to determine the numbers of students entering, and completing nursing training over a three year period or cohort. NES does not collect this information for individual years.

  The attrition rate in Scotland for pre-registration nursing and midwifery students is currently 22.9%. This is an average of the last three years cohorts, i.e. 1998-99, 1999-2000 and 2000-01.

  We are working with the seven contracted Higher Education Institutions who provide pre-registration nursing and midwifery programmes to ensure that the attrition rate reduces to an acceptable level.

Nurses

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many infection control nurses are employed by each NHS board.

Mr Andy Kerr: NHSScotland now employs 145 Infection Control Nurses (ICNs) – an increase of almost 60% since February 2003. Figures for each NHS board are not held centrally. Health Protection Scotland collects ICN statistics.

Nurses

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average student nurse bursary has been in each year since 1999.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on the total expenditure on bursaries is not collected in such a way as to provide average bursary payments for these academic years. Lower and higher rates of bursary for the academic years 1999-2000 to 2005-06 are set out in the following table. Where applicable, nursing and midwifery students can also apply for a lone parent’s grant, lone parent’s childcare grant and income-assessed dependants’ allowances for dependant children.

  

 Academic Year
Lower Rate(students under 26)
Higher Rate(students over 26)


 1999-2000
 4,686
 5,277


 2000-01
 4,803
 5,409


 2001-02
 5,302
 5,971


 2002-03
 5,430
 6,115


 2003-04
 5,566
 6,268


 2004-05
 5,700
 6,418


 2005-06
 5,845
 6,580

Road Accidents

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many road deaths, other than those on motorways or trunk roads, have occurred in each year since 1997, broken down by local authority area.

Tavish Scott: The information requested is published annually in Road Accidents Scotland , copies of which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre. The figures for each year from 1999 to 2003 (inclusive) are given in Table 36 of Road Accidents Scotland 2003 (Bib. number 34523). The figures for 1997 and 1998 can be found in Table 36 of Road Accidents Scotland 2001 (Bib. number 25584). The corresponding figures for 2004 are not yet available, but will be published later this year.

Road Accidents

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive which 20 roads have had the highest number of (a) accidents and (b) fatalities in each of the last five years.

Tavish Scott: Data about injury road accidents are collected by the police and reported to the Scottish Executive using the Stats 19 statistical report form. These returns cover only road accidents in which one or more people were injured; they do not cover damage only accidents. The data include the road class and number, if any. Figures for the numbers of accidents on individual roads can only be produced from the central statistical database in cases where the roads are of class M, A(M), A and B.

  The following tables provide the statistics requested. They are based upon data which were collected by the police at the time of the accident and subsequently reported to the Executive. They may differ from any figures which the relevant local authorities would provide now, because they do not take account of any subsequent changes or corrections that local authorities may have made to the statistical information, for use at a local level, about the location of each accident, based upon their knowledge of the roads and areas concerned.

  Each sub-table lists only twenty roads. In some cases, other roads may have the same numbers of injury road accidents, or fatalities, as the last road shown in a particular sub-table. For example, the A68 was not the only road which had 3 fatalities in 2000.

  In the case of roads, such as the A1, which cross the border, the figures relate only to accidents which occurred in Scotland.

  

 2000


 Injury road accidents
 Fatalities


 Road
 Number of injury road accidents
 Road
 Number of road accident fatalities


 A8
 354
 A9
 15


 A82
 244
 A90
 10


 A90
 231
 A82
 9


 M8
 228
 A96
 9


 A9
 202
 M8
 9


 A77
 168
 A85
 8


 A71
 163
 A1
 7


 A814
 148
 A83
 7


 A89
 141
 M74
 7


 A92
 135
 A702
 5


 A7
 132
 A71
 5


 A96
 120
 A8
 5


 A70
 105
 A93
 5


 A1
 103
 A76
 4


 A761
 103
 A77
 4


 A725
 102
 A89
 4


 A702
 101
 A92
 4


 A78
 96
 A95
 4


 A85
 95
 B701
 4


 A803
 91
 A68
 3



  

 2001


 Injury road accidents
 Fatalities


 Road
 Number of injury road accidents
 Road
 Number of road accident fatalities


 A8
 327
 A9
 21


 A90
 259
 A90
 18


 M8
 246
 A85
 8


 A82
 233
 A92
 8


 A9
 196
 A77
 7


 A77
 178
 A82
 7


 A71
 153
 A701
 6


 A7
 140
 A71
 5


 A89
 127
 A78
 5


 A814
 119
 A8
 5


 A92
 113
 A83
 5


 A96
 107
 A91
 5


 A70
 105
 A70
 4


 A1
 104
 A811
 4


 A761
 92
 B9152
 4


 A726
 90
 M8
 4


 A85
 90
 A1
 3


 A702
 89
 A709
 3


 A725
 88
 A713
 3


 A78
 87
 A75
 3



  

 2002


 Injury road accidents
 Fatalities


 Road
 Number of injury road accidents
 Road
 Number of road accident fatalities


 A8
 341
 A82
 12


 A90
 243
 A77
 10


 M8
 242
 A90
 10


 A9
 219
 A9
 9


 A82
 208
 A75
 8


 A77
 176
 A1
 7


 A92
 149
 A8
 7


 A7
 140
 A74
 6


 A814
 139
 A96
 6


 A71
 130
 A814
 5


 A1
 112
 A947
 5


 A803
 105
 A977
 5


 A96
 104
 M74
 5


 A761
 99
 A823
 4


 A89
 97
 M90
 4


 A81
 93
 A719
 3


 A85
 92
 A72
 3


 A70
 87
 A832
 3


 A73
 87
 A91
 3


 A78
 87
 A93
 3



  

 2003


 Injury road accidents
 Fatalities


 Road
 Number of injury road accidents
 Road
 Number of road accident fatalities


 A8
 310
 A9
 20


 A90
 256
 A90
 13


 A82
 231
 A77
 12


 A9
 227
 A96
 11


 M8
 202
 A72
 7


 A77
 174
 A82
 7


 A92
 159
 A770
 5


 A71
 149
 A85
 5


 A814
 130
 A92
 5


 A7
 127
 B7078
 5


 A89
 124
 A71
 4


 A1
 120
 A713
 4


 A726
 101
 A8
 4


 A96
 100
 A93
 4


 A78
 91
 A701
 3


 A702
 90
 A726
 3


 A85
 88
 A74
 3


 A70
 83
 A75
 3


 A91
 83
 A78
 3


 A761
 82
 A811
 3



  

 2004


 Injury road accidents
 Fatalities


 Road
 Number of injury road accidents
 Road
 Number of road accident fatalities


 A8
 305
 A9
 17


 A90
 269
 A90
 13


 M8
 247
 A77
 12


 A82
 217
 A82
 7


 A9
 209
 A85
 7


 A71
 176
 A92
 7


 A77
 138
 A96
 7


 A7
 129
 A91
 5


 A92
 121
 A70
 4


 A96
 120
 A71
 4


 A814
 110
 M74
 4


 A85
 105
 A701
 3


 A89
 103
 A702
 3


 A726
 94
 A72
 3


 A702
 93
 A8
 3


 A1
 90
 A83
 3


 A78
 90
 A859
 3


 A91
 89
 A87
 3


 A70
 88
 A916
 3


 A761
 88
 A93
 3

Roads

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost is of upgrading the A77 to dual carriageway from Whitletts Roundabout in Ayr to (a) Maybole and (b) Stranraer.

Tavish Scott: At today’s prices we would expect dualling between Whitletts Roundabout and Maybole to cost in excess of £350 million, and between Whitletts Roundabout and Stranraer in excess of £450 million plus VAT. However, firm estimates could only be provided after detail analysis of options had been undertaken.

Roads

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost is of upgrading the A76 to dual carriageway between Kilmarnock and Dumfries.

Tavish Scott: At today’s prices we would expect such an upgrading to cost in excess of £500 million plus VAT. However firm estimates could only be provided after a detail analysis of options has been undertaken.

Roads

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) fatal and (b) serious accidents have occurred on the A76 in each year since 1999.

Tavish Scott: The information requested is provided in the following table.

  

 Year
 Fatal
 Serious
 Total


 1999
 4
 10
 14


 2000
 4
 10
 14


 2001
 2
 17
 19


 2002
 2
 11
 13


 2003
 2
 7
 9


 2004
 0
 14
 14


 Total
 14
 69
 83

Scottish Executive Equipment

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of computer (a) hacking, (b) fraud and (c) theft have been recorded and on how many occasions computer systems (i) within and (ii) outwith the Executive have been illegally accessed by computer hackers in each year since 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: The recorded crime statistics available centrally do not differentiate the circumstances of the crime and as such it is not possible to distinguish cases where a computer was involved in committing a fraud or theft.

  In relation to computer hacking, two types of crime and offence may be recorded by the police under the Computer Misuse Act 1990; Section 3(1) of the act covers the unauthorised modification of the contents of any computer while Sections 1(1) and 2(1) relate to securing unauthorised access to any data or program held in any computer.

  The numbers of crimes and offences relating to computer hacking, recorded by the police in Scotland under the Computer Misuse Act 1990, are shown in the following table.

  

 Year
 Number of Offences Recorded


 1999
 0


 2000
 5


 2001
 8


 2002
 13


 2003
 7



  There have been no known instances of hacking into computers within the Executive since 1999.

Social Work

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-10791 by Euan Robson on 30 September 2004, how it monitors the share and benefit received by voluntary organisations from the stated additional investment made to local authorities for social work training and what share and benefit have been received by voluntary organisations to date.

Robert Brown: Local authorities provide an annual return to the Scottish Executive on training activity undertaken from specific grant funding along with their Training Plans. As part of this they are asked to identify any activity undertaken jointly with the voluntary sector and others. However, it is not possible to precisely identify the share and benefit to the voluntary sector as the benefit to the sector may be in kind as well as in monetary terms, for example some local authorities reserve places on training courses for voluntary/independent sector staff.

Sport

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of the lottery funding made available to sportscotland in each of the last three financial years, and to be allocated in this financial year, for spending on sport in Scotland.

Patricia Ferguson: Since 1994,  Sportscotland has invested over £220 million of National Lottery funding in sport in Scotland.

  Sportscotland’s plans for distributing National Lottery funding for sport in Scotland for 2003-2007 are set out in Raising our Game, sportscotland’s Lottery Fund Strategy. During the four years 2004 to 2007 sportscotland aim to invest an average of about £25 million a year in their new Lottery categories. Even allowing for inflation, this is more than the £21 million a year forecast for 1999-2003 in Levelling the "Playing Field", Sportscotland’s previous lottery strategy, and more than the annual investment actually achieved by sportscotland during that period, which averaged over £22 million.

  Sportscotland’s share of Lottery funds placed in the National Lottery Distribution Fund was £21.097 million in 2002-03, £18.288 million in 2003-04 and £19.673 million in 2004-05.

  Other National Lottery funding for sport in Scotland includes funding from the New Opportunities Fund of £87 million for PE and sport in schools and £11.5 million for community sport.

Transport

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will reconsider its decision not to grant financial support to West Lothian Council through the route development fund for the provision of an hourly bus service between West Lothian, Edinburgh Park and Edinburgh Airport.

Tavish Scott: Following the initial round of the Bus Route Development Grant scheme, it was decided that there will be no further formal "round" of BRDF awards. Instead, any transport authority which did not receive at least a population-based share of the total funding through the initial awards, and which has been given an indicative allocation of funding which remains available to them, is invited to bring forward proposals as and when they are in a position to do so in the light of the opportunities in the bus market. Although West Lothian Council as one of the more successful authorities in the initial round has no indicative allocation remaining, a proposal from any authority which has great merit but which may exceed that authority’s allocation may still be considered providing there are sufficient resources remaining within the scheme.

Young People

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many young people were not in employment, education or training, broken down by (a) constituency and (b) local authority (i) in total and (ii) as a percentage of each age group ranked in descending order and grouped by region, in the last year for which figures are available.

Allan Wilson: Young people not in employment education or training is usually defined by the Scottish Executive as those aged 16-19 not in employment, education or training (NEET). Data on the NEET group are taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The most up to date data available are for 2004. The LFS is a survey and is based on a sample of the population, therefore data are only available at certain geographies due to small sample sizes resulting is unreliable estimates. For this reason it is not possible to provide data on NEET at constituency level. Table 1 gives the number of 16-19 year olds not in employment, education or training broken down by Local Authority Areas, grouped by region and ranked within each region. Table 2 gives the age breakdown for areas where data is reliable.

  Table 1 Number of 16-19 year olds not in employment, education or training for each Local Authority Area, grouped by region, 2004

  

 
 Ages 16-19


 
 Number
 Percentage


 Scotland
 35,000
 13.5%


 Borders
 
 


 Scottish Borders, The
 1,000
 12.0%


 Central
 
 


 Stirling
 1,000
 16.0%


 Clackmannanshire
 ..
 ..


 Falkirk
 ..
 ..


 Dumfries and Galloway
 
 


 Dumfries and Galloway
 ..
 ..


 Fife
 
 


 Fife
 ..
 ..


 Grampian
 
 


 Aberdeen City
 ..
 ..


 Aberdeenshire
 ..
 ..


 Moray
 ..
 ..


 Highland & Islands
 
 


 Highland
 ..
 ..


 Orkney Islands
 ..
 ..


 Shetland Islands
 ..
 ..


 Eilean Siar (Western Isles)
 ..
 ..


 Lothian
 
 


 Midlothian
 1,000
 15.9%


 East Lothian
 ..
 ..


 Edinburgh, City of
 ..
 ..


 West Lothian
 ..
 ..


 Strathclyde
 
 


 Glasgow City
 7,000
 23.0%


 West Dunbartonshire
 1,000
 17.7%


 East Ayrshire
 1,000
 16.6%


 East Dunbartonshire
 1,000
 9.8%


 Inverclyde
 1,000
 17.4%


 North Ayrshire
 1,000
 18.6%


 South Ayrshire
 1,000
 18.5%


 Argyll & Bute
 ..
 ..


 East Renfrewshire
 ..
 ..


 North Lanarkshire
 ..
 ..


 Renfrewshire
 ..
 ..


 South Lanarkshire
 ..
 ..


 Tayside
 
 


 Angus
 1,000
 11.5%


 Dundee City
 ..
 ..


 Perth and Kinross
 ..
 ..



  Estimate is below reliability threshold as defined by the Office for National Statistics.

  Notes:

  1. Estimates are rounded to the nearest thousand.

  2. The total may not equal the sum of the individual components due to rounding.

  3. Percentages are calculated as the number of NEET divided by the total population for the relevant age group.

  Table 2 Age breakdown of NEET, 2004

  

 
 Number
 Percentage


 
 Age 16
 Age 17
 Age 18
 Age 19
 Age 16
 Age 17
 Age 18
 Age 19


 Scotland
 6,000
 7,000
 10,000
 12,000
 10.0%
 11.1%
 15.3%
 17.5%


 North Ayrshire
 ..
 ..
 ..
 1,000
 ..
 ..
 ..
 28.6%



  Source: Annual Scottish Labour Force Survey, 2004

  .. Estimate is below reliability threshold as defined by the Office for National Statistics

  Notes:

  1. Estimates are rounded to the nearest thousand.

  2. The total may not equal the sum of the individual components due to rounding.

  3. Percentages are calculated as the number of NEET divided by the total population for the relevant age group.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Holyrood Building

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the average temperature has been in the (a) Scottish Parliament building, (b) MSP block and (c) media tower in each of the last 12 months.

John Scott MSP (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body):  (a) It is not currently possible to determine the average temperature for the whole building based on the information logged to date for individual areas.

  (b) The average temperature recorded in a representative number of MSP rooms over the last year is 22.3 degrees Celsius.

  (c)The average temperature recorded in a sample of rooms in the press tower since 23 Oct 04 to 3 Aug 05 is 21.67 degrees Celsius.

Holyrood Building

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the highest temperature recorded in a (a) MSP’s and (b) media tower office has been in the last 12 months.

John Scott MSP (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body):

  The highest temperature recorded within a representative number of MSP offices over the last 12 months is 26.5 degrees Celsius.

  The highest temperature recorded in a sample of rooms in the media tower between 23 Oct 04 and 3 Aug 05 is 27.05 degrees Celsius.

Holyrood Building

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the highest room temperature recorded in Tower 1, Tower 2, Tower 3, Tower 4, Queensberry House, 58-60 Canongate and the Canongate Building has been in the last 12 months.

John Scott MSP (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body):

  The following temperatures are the highest recorded within the specified area, but do not cover all rooms within the area:

  Tower 1 – 25 degrees Celsius between 17 Aug 04 and 3 Aug 05.

  Tower 2 – 25.9 degrees Celsius between 19 Aug 04 and 3 Aug 05.

  Tower 3 – no data.

  Tower 4 – 26.4 degrees Celsius between 4 March 05 and 3 Aug 05.

  QBH – 29.7 degrees Celsius between 7 Nov 04 and3 Aug 05.

  Canongate – 26.71 degrees Celsius between 25 Nov 04 and 3 Aug 05.

Holyrood Building

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many electric fans have been (a) requested by and (b) distributed to parliamentary and MSPs’ staff in the last 12 months.

John Scott MSP (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body):

  Since arrival at Holyrood, Helpdesk records show that 88 requests have been made for fans.

  Twenty-three fans have been issued in the last 12 months, the majority in the latter half of June and July 2005.

Holyrood Building

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body in which parts of the Scottish Parliament building air-conditioning is used.

John Scott MSP (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body):

  Air conditioning is installed in the following areas:

  Debating chamber

  Committee rooms

  Public hall

  Garden lobby

  IT server rooms

  Broadcasting server and control rooms

  Security control and incident rooms

  Ground floor QBH

  Press Tower, 2nd floor.

Holyrood Building

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it has investigated the costs involved in installing air-conditioning throughout the Scottish Parliament building.

John Scott MSP (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body):

  The SPCB has not investigated the cost of installing air conditioning throughout the building. Holyrood has been designed as a low energy, environmentally friendly building. Air conditioning would compromise the energy efficiency of the building.

Holyrood Building

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the monthly cost is of cleaning all the windows of the Scottish Parliament building.

John Scott MSP (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body):

  The total cost for window cleaning from 1 August 2005 to 31 July 2005 was £35304.64. This is equivalent to a monthly window cleaning cost of £2942.05.

Holyrood Building

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how much has been spent on maintaining the landscaped areas of the Scottish Parliament complex.

John Scott MSP (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body):

  Approximately £12,000 exc. VAT has been spent on grounds maintenance since practical completion. This includes watering, grass cutting, weeding, feeding and litter picking.